Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-07-05

lined with the marks of dissipation and
excess. He was decidedly handsome
with his raven black hair, his broad
white forehead, his long straight most
and dclicately curving lips; but he haC
pair OF such cold blue eyes as mad,
you wonder that they could have beer
mismatcd with his dark hair and eye
brows. The common expression of his
face was unprepossessing, even when
he smiled. 1t was not face to invite
the confidence of stranger.
The contrast between him and his
companion was marked. The latter
was n head shorter, stout, squarcly
built and muscular, with great rough
hands, and big head set upon his
broad shoulders with little appearance
Of neck. A thick mat of grizzled hail
covered it, and shaggy eyebrows al
most hid his little twinkling gray eyes.
His face was tanned and Drowned by
sun and wind, great livid scar showed
where his whole cheek had been once
laid open by sword-cut, and stubbed
beard and mustache covered his lower
face. Notwithstanding the heat of the
sun, he wore Il tarpaulin hat and a
heavy dreadnaught coat. He looked
precisely what he was-a son of the
sea, who had followed it two-thirds OF
his life, who was never at home when
ashore, and who had sailed to every
quarter of the globe. His age was
nearly sixty years.
As he looked now upon the crowd
and the preparations for the execution,
his sturdy, honest face expressed an
Indignation that he dared not utter;
but his feelings found relief from time
to time by running commentary NUT
tered to the young man beside him.
1.-The Internal Spanish villains! All
the wonder TO me is, that the Spanish
blood could make such hero as the
man they are going to murder. There
must be some mistake about his family;
I'd bet silver dollar there's dash of
Anglo-Saxon blood in him."
"Uncle. uncle, whispered the young
man,. edo be quietl You'll be over
heard by some of these officers"
"Well, wouldn't care very much.
| feel ugly-thats the long and short
of it. tell you, Louis, if that noble
fellow up there had succeeded. he'd be
called another Washington or Bolivar;
and I'll be smasheS if he wouldn't have
succeeded, too, and driven the whole
Spanish-Cuban army into the Gulf, If
he'd had with him two thousand of our
countrymcn such as stout old lack
Taylor had with him at Buena Vista,
when he rolled twenty thousand just
such soldiers MS these here back over
the mountains. And | say. boy, that
if Washington or Bolivar had failed,
they'd have had the same fate dealt out
to them ms Lopez. One would have had
the rope, and the other the garrotc."
"Will you be quiet, uncle, or do you
want to get both Of us In troubled"
The sailor was by this time red and
angry. He looked at his nephew with
something like contempt, and said:
II don't think you're likely to get
into any trouble Louis, that would
come from sympathy with any one
else"
Perhaps not" said the other, quiet
ly, not in the least moved by his
uncle's retort. "But l haven't any
sympathy to throw away on lot of
unwary adventures who go on des-
peratc expedition with their lives in
their hands. The affair has turned out
just as l expected it would, and l say
they are being served exactly right"
The sailors wrath was rising higher
and higher.
"Well, by -, Louis Hunter, Tn
glad now that you're only my nephew
by adoption! My sisters own boy.
who died before she took you, had
some of the same blood that stirs in
my old veins; he wouldn't talk or think
as You do, if he stood here by my side
and saw what's going on up there"
The young man seemed not in the
least put out by the rcproof. In fact,
he gave an irritating little laugh, which
did not at all soften his uncles dis
pleasure.
you've got about as much blood as
a goldfish" the sailor growlcd.
Ill
to get any of it let out by these hot
tempered Spaniards. Now, uncle.
please stop talking. You've spoken so
loud already that you've attracted the
attention of some of them; aud il you
don't stop I'll go back to the ship
alone and leave you to get into one of
their dungeons by yourself"
go, II you want to. IN speak my
mind, anyway. l always did hate a
Spaniard, and hate EN- to-day worse
than ever"
He probably did not intend to utter
this as q defiance to tho imposing array
of armed power that was right there
before him; but he had become excited
by his own language and Louis indif-
ference, and his las. words were spoken
quite loudly. The man in the sombrero
turned about, cast quick glance at
his face, and then resumed his steady
gaze at General Lnpez. The two Span
iards at his left also heard his wordsi
and though not perfectly understand
ing them. they evidently compro-
hended something of their meaning.
Both of them scowled. and the nearer
Of the two stretched his neck over to-
ward the two Americans, and Kissed:
"Ah-Americano Diabolo"
The words were accompanied by
gesture, which plainly in
Dictated the putting on Of handouts.
The sailor understood it, and his face
actually turned purple with rage. He
his fists, and there is no tell
Ing what indiscretion he might have
had not Louis Hunter inter
posed. The young man addressed the
angry 6paniards In thcir own LAM
guage. with flueney that showed him
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